The dangers of Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates

In this edition it seems appropriate, since we have an articles on coffee to talk about sugar and carbohydrates.
Sugar is, by far, the greatest addiction in the United States. It is far more excessive than all other forms of substance abuse combined. Yet little attention is given to this insidious condition and the slow but surely destructive consequences of its abuse.
At the turn of the last century, a mere 100 years ago, diabetes was number 100 on the list of frequency of illnesses. That meant that there were 99 other diseases that you could get more readily than diabetes. Today diabetes is number three on that same list. What could possibly change so dramatically to cause diabetes to become an epidemic?Consider that in 1895 the average American consumed 3 to 4 pounds of sugar per year. It was a treat to ride into town and pick up a nickel bag of candy from the general store - and it would last a week! Maybe on Sunday, mama would bake a pie for the family's sit-down dinner. Today, the average American (not the chocoholic) consumes his or her own bodyweight in sugar every year!!! All of this highly refined "rocket fuel" must be metabolized rapidly by the pancreas. The pancreas must produce insulin, the hormone responsible for converting blood glucose into the stored form glycogen and eventually triglycerides.

When we pack high amounts of sugar into the bodies of small children it makes them run like a jet engine. When the sugar is converted by insulin, as it must be, the blood sugar often drops below optimal levels. This produces a temporary state of hypoglycemia, resulting in a loss of energy, frequently producing lethargy. Does that sound like your child?
The number one cause for mood swings, characterized by hyperactivity one minute and lethargy and moodiness the next, is the over-consumption of sugar-laden foods. Everything has sugar in it. It is the cheapest preservative the food industry uses to increase the shelf life of processed foods When children start off their day with a glass of concentrated fruit juice, a bowl of sugar-filled cereal to which they have added more sugar, white toast with jam or jelly, and a glass of chocolate-syrup milk, is it a surprise when a roller coaster ride of moods and emotions soon follows?
Monitoring the child's diet is frequently a neglected factor in an ADD/ADHD management program because it takes attention and constancy. Parents frequently have similar unhealthy eating habits and are not willing to alter them for the sake of their children. There are several things we can do to offset the detrimental effects of sugar. The minerals, chromium & vanadium, have been shown to assist the body in the metabolizing of glucose.

The effectiveness of these elements destructive habits and then complain afterwards that "it didn't work." Perhaps what is needed is a little reality check? Yes?
Prinz and his associates found that hyperactivity and destructive behavior are positively correlated with the amount of sugar consumed. Langseth and Dowd conducted a study on 261 hyperactive children. They found that after 5 hours of oral glucose tolerance tests, 74% displayed abnormal glucose tolerance levels. These studies prove that hypoglycemia promotes hyperkinesis and that refined carboydrates appear to be the major factor in promoting reactive hypoglycemia. [Sanders L, Hofeldt F, Kirk M, Levin J. Refined carbohydrate as a contributing factor in reactive hypoglycemia. Southern Med J 1982; 75: 1972-1975]
Taking an active interest in your child's diet is so important to his or her health. Knowing about allergies and other sensitivities to food is critical in solving the problem of hyperactivity. Before prescriptive drugs are used to help ADD, nutritional factors and basic nutrition programs should be considered.

The dangers of eating white bread

A very big welcome to you all and may I take the opportunity of wishing a peaceful, prosperous and a healthy new year.
I guess on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of what is bad for you, white bride might score around 5, depending of course which white bread you eat. Needles to say, the more economical pre cut and packed breads are going to be be the worst, Brown bread included!
I’m looking at the ingredients of Nimble white Bread, all seems ok until you come to Ascorbic Acid. It seems hardly likely that taking high doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can cause thickening or hardening of the arteries since so many people have taken high doses for a long time and indeed Vitamin c treatment is used in clinics to cure Cancer.
Researchers from the University of California reported just that on March 2, 2000. People who took 500 mgs of ascorbic acid had a 2.5 times faster progression of thickening of the carotid artery (hardening of the arteries) than people who took no supplement.although tghis product contains E472e, a stabilzer, has no reported side effects, however you are eating something that has altered the natural condition of the bread which in turn gives it an un natural shelf life.

Don't be fooled by the word "wheat" (as labelled on this product) when it comes to flour. All flour derived from wheat can be called "wheat flour," even if it is processed, bleached and stripped of its nutrition. Only "whole grain wheat flour" is a healthful form of wheat flour. Many consumers mistakenly believe that "wheat flour"products are whole grain products. In fact, this is not true. Food manufacturers fool consumers with this trick.
This product also has salt included, again innocent enough, however the question is, is this sea or rock salt, or regular“table salt” If they are using table salt, then it is not salt at all it is Sodium Nitrite, A chemical and a known carceogenic, incidently, natural salt has 84 essential minerals that our body actually needs, table salt has only two, what's left is dangerous junk!
And of course white bread is bleached, Studies show that alloxan, the chemical that makes white flour look "clean" and "beautiful," destroys the beta cells of the pancreas. That's right; you may be devastating your pancreas and putting yourself at risk for diabetes, all for the sake of eating "beautiful" flour. Is it worth it?
The other day I was reading the book Asthma free naturally by Patrick Mackeown (Harris Thorsons ISBN 978 0 00 721036 7)

and I quote, “White flour contains little nutrition & increases mucus mucus production. modern white flour has had approximatley four fiths of phosphorous and nearly all of the vitamins removed by processing, in order to produce a flour that can be shipped without becoming infested with insect life. The tests show white bread was unable to sustain insect life, while half a slice of Rye bread was totaly consumed by bugs.An finally, remember as a kid when you wanted to make wallpaper paste, what did we do! Exactly, water and white flour, now imagine digesting that lot!
Rye Bread is best in my opinion, organic, naturally, and this is worth passing on, Spelt Bread, an excellent choice if you are recovering from chemo............check it out.

The Healing power of Basil

Say the word "basil," and most people will think of the tasty green sauce known as pesto, which like the word pestle (as in mortar and pestle) comes from the Italian word pestare meaning to "pound" or "stamp on." This refers to the traditional way in which pesto was made, by grinding the fresh leaves in a mortar along with garlic, salt, pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil. Although we tend to associate basil with Italy and other Mediterranean countries, it actually originated in India and was brought to the Mediterranean via the spice routes in ancient times.
The whole herb, both fresh and dried, is used medicinally. Basil has been used for mild nervous disorders and for the alleviation of rheumatic pains, and, although the mechanism isn't yet understood, preliminary studies have shown that the leaf and seed may help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels. In addition, the seed has been found to relieve constipation.
The volatile oil of basil has shown antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activity in test tube studies. It's also believed to act as a carminative, relieving intestinal gas, and as a mild diuretic.
As a natural tranquilizer, basil is said to be a tonic and calms the nervous system. It aids the digestion and also eases stomach cramps, relieves nausea, and arrests vomiting.
Basil is an important herb to detoxify an over-indulged body, where eating patterns have been erratic. It'll quickly restore the blood to its natural balance and help eliminate toxins formed by incorrect eating and environmental pollution.
Most remarkable of all, basil is the herb that lifts the spirit. It helps with heavy-heartedness and anxiety and has the ability to soothe tension, yet helps you to remain attentive and alert. A pleasant tea can be made by steeping a teaspoon of basil leaves in a cup of water for 10 minutes.
Cultivated for more than 2,000 years, basil symbolizes love. At one time, young girls would place some on their windowsill to indicate they were looking for a suitor. In Tudor times, farmer's wives gave small pots of this to visitors as parting gifts. It's also reputed that any man will fall in love with a woman from whom he accepts some basil as a gift. In present-day Romania, if a young lady offers a young man a sprig of basil and he accepts, they are officially engaged.
News headline Diabetic man on trial for murder will use high blood sugar as defense
In ancient Rome, the name for the herb, Basilescus, referred to Basilisk, the fire-breathing dragon. Taking the herb was thought to be a charm against the beast. With this in mind, it's interesting that up until recent times, basil has been used as an antidote to venom. The Greeks also had great respect for basil, their word for it meaning "royal" or "kingly." It was believed that only the king himself should harvest basil, and then only with the use of a golden sickle. Meanwhile, in India, basil was held to be sacred; it was believed that if a leaf of basil was buried with a person, it would guarantee their passage to heaven.
In marked contrast, however, other ideas prevailed among the ancient Greeks that basil represented hate and misfortune; many believed that scorpions would breed under pots of basil. They painted poverty as a ragged woman with a basil at her side and thought the plant would not grow unless railing and abuse were poured forth at the time of sowing. The Romans similarly believed that the more it was abused, the better it would prosper. These may represent ways to "fool the gods" so as not to bring bad luck by too much obsequy.
The physicians of old were quite unable to agree as to its medicinal value, some declaring that it was a poison, and others a precious simple. Culpeper tells us:
"Galen and Dioscorides hold it is not fitting to be taken inwardly and Chrysippus rails at it. Pliny and the Arabians defend it. Something is the matter, this herb and rue will not grow together, no, nor near one another, and we know rue is as great an enemy to poison as any that grows."
However, basil was said to create sympathy between human beings. A tradition still exists in Moldavia that a youth will love any maiden from whose hand he accepts a sprig of this plant. In Crete it symbolizes "love washed with tears," and in some parts of Italy, basil is a love token. Boccaccio's story of Isabella and the Pot of Basil, immortalized by Keats, keeps the plant in our memory. Tusser includes it among the Strewing herbs and Drayton places it first in his poem Polyolbion:
News headlineHundreds of Physicians Grade Supplements (press release)
"With Basil then I will begin Whose scent is wondrous pleasing."
John Parkinson wrote in his Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, in 1629:
"The ordinary basill is in a manner wholly spent to make sweete or washing waters among other sweet herbs, yet sometimes it is put into nosegays. The Physicall properties are to procure a cheerfull and merry hearte whereunto the seeds is chiefly used in powder."
In Malaysia and Iran, basil is planted on graves, and in Egypt women scatter the flowers on the resting-places of those belonging to them. Some people believe if you put some basil in your wallet, you will attract money, success, and prosperity. (Nothing to lose, surely?)
Basil contains a strong-scented volatile oil composed primarily of terpenoids, particularly eugenol, thymol, and estragol. This volatile oil has shown antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activity in test tube studies, while the terpenoids in basil are important anti-cancer phytochemicals – naturally occurring substances that work in conjunction with vitamins and other nutrients to stimulate protective enzymes and block metabolic pathways associated with the development of cancer and heart disease. Terpenoids have been shown to suppress the growth of tumors and decrease the number of tumors produced.

Taken from The Kitchen medicine book